Urban Gully Development in Southwestern Nigeria

Aderemi Adediji, Matthew Olomolatan Ibitoye

Department of Geography, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

DOI: 10.4236/pos.2013.42018                

Abstract

This study examined the development of urban gullies in a part of Southwestern Nigeria. This was done with a view to determine the volume and amount of sediment loss from the 1^st and 2^nd order gullies in a cascade system. Twenty (20) towns were randomly selected from where thirty (30) gully systems comprising forty (40) 1^st order and five (5) 2^nd order gullies were measured with Tape and Total Station (TS). The gully dimensions measured include gully lengths, depths and cross sectional areas. The core samples were also taken from the study gullies for the determination of the soil bulk density. The results showed that the mean volume of soil loss from the 1^st order and (2^nd) order gullies in the study area are 1612.633 m³ and 1629.922 m³, respectively. The weight of the estimated sediment loss from the 1^st order and 2^nd order gullies are 2661.621 and 2657.318 tonnes, respectively. The result further showed that the total soil loss of 119661.442 tonnes was obtained from the study gullies and that the 1^st order gullies accounted for 87% (106,375 tonnes) of the total soil loss. This was an indication of soil degradation in the area.

Keywords

Urban Area; Gully Development; Accelerated Erosion; Southwestern Nigeria

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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